Passenger Miles Up 1.8% in August 2013

According to the Bureau of Transportation, system revenue passenger miles were 80.0 billion in August 2013. This was an increase of 1.8% compared to August 2012. This was the fourth month-over-month increase in a row. Passenger miles have grown significantly faster the last four months than at any time since the early summer of 2011. The annual rate of change has accelerated the last three months. It should continue to grow faster for at least the next couple of months. This would be positive news for aerospace industrial production. Real disposable income, a good leading indicator for passenger miles, appears to have bottomed out and seems ready to grow faster heading into 2014. Therefore, longer term it is likely that airline passenger miles will see accelerating growth.

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